Wagon-bed lifter



(No Model.)

J. R- STONE.

WAGON BED LIFTER.

No. 247,706. Patented Sept. 27,1881;

14 71 772 ass as 1721767550) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES R. STONE, OF BONE GAP, ILLINOIS.

WAGON-BED LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,706, dated September 27, 1881,

Application filed July 28, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES R. STONE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bone Gap, in the county of Edwards and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-BedLil'ters and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wagon-body lifters, and has for its object to furnish a convenient mode of removing a wagonbody in order to replace it with a different.

body, or for any other reason, all of which will he hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

It consists in arms supporting loops and provided with bearings at or near their middles, placed by means of their bearin gs on gudgeons on the ends of cross-bar of T-lever parallel to each other and at right angles to the said crossbar, the whole being operated by the T-lever, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

It consists, further, in having the spindles of the arms formed wit-h stems, which fit in sockets in or by other suitable means to the end cross-bar and adjustable therein, thus rendering the lifter suitable for wagon-bodies of different lengths.

It consists, further, in having the stems of the adjustable spindle formed with a ratchetbar the teeth of which are engaged by a spring catch or pawl fixed to the cross-bar, so that the adjustable spindle may be held in any position in or out of the socket, as may bedesired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 is a side view, of my improved wagon-body lifter; and Fig. 3 shows details of my adj ustable spindle.

c is a T-shaped lever composed of the main shaft to and the cross-bar a It may be braced, as shown, by bars a a The shaft to is fulcrumed at proper point to give suitable leverage to the arm a.

I have shown my lever supported on an intermediate cross-bar properl y journaled; but it will be readily understood that it could be supported by connection with an overhanging rope or pivoted on an upright post, or in other ways not necessary to mention here. ble manner of support is to fulcrum the lever on therotating-bara and have the ends of said bar journaled in the sides of the wagon-house.

ais the cross-bar, havinglongitudinal sockets a a formed in its ends. I) b are spring-bars, each having one of its ends made fast to the cross-bar a and its other end extended outward toward the gudgeon and bent down through suitable hole or slot to engage the ratchets of stem b as shown, and having formed upon its top a loop, by which the point may be raised clear of the ratchets.

b b are the spindles, each formed with the gudgeon b and the stem 11 The stem 1) is litted to enter the socket a of the cross-bar c and is about-the length of said socket, It has formed on one of its sides the series of ratchets or notches which are intended to be caught and held by the point of spring-stop W. .A series of these notches are provided, so that the spindle can bedrawn out to and be held in any desired position in order to adapt the device to wagonbodies of different lengths. The junction of the gudgeon with the stem forms a shoulder, which serves to prevent the carryin g-arm c from sliding back on the spindle and to retain it on the gndgeon between the said shoulder and the linch-pin b.

c c are arms provided with bearings at or near their middles, and having the ropes c 0 made fast to them at or near their ends, so as to form a loop, as shown. These ropes pass through the arms 0 c, and are held on the opposite side thereof by knots or other suitable means, and may be readily lengthened or shortened, as desired.

The bars 0 c are placed on the gudgeons b b parallel to each other and at right angles to the cross-bar a and have a free rocking motion in the direction of their length.

In the operation of my device in raising a wagon-body the free rocking motion of the carrying-arms 0 will permit the wagon-body to retain its horizontal position as the cross-bar a is raised.

The operation of my device is as follows: The loops 0 c are adjusted under opposite ends of the wagon-body and pressure is applied to The preferathe lever-arm a, when the body will be raised clear of the running-gear and will be kept in a horizontal position by the bearing furnished the carrying-arms 0 0, as described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a wagon-body litter, the carrying-arms c 0, provided with bearings at or near their middles and arranged to support the loops 0 c, and supported on gudgeons on the ends of cross-bar a of the T-shaped lever to, parallel to each other and to the main shaft to and at right angles to the cross-bar a substantially as set forth.

2. In a wagon-body lifter, the spindes d I), having stems b If, fitted in sockets in or by J uly, 1881.

JAMES RILY STONE. \Vitnesses:

J. S. STONE, MARIA STANLEY. 

